Lead book review
Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn: a meeting of like minds
For Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn, two great recorders of Restoration England, life was a cabinet of curiosities, says Frances Wilson
The dazzling vision of Thomas Gainsborough
Working in semi-darkness, Thomas Gainsborough produced some of the airiest, most poetic paintings imaginable, says Philip Hensher
Toscanini and the morality of conducting
Toscanini’s simple set of values made him certain of the rights and wrongs of everything, says Michael Tanner – except regarding women
Did the hideous carnage of Passchendaele gain the Allies anything?
Peter Parker on the carnage of Passchendaele
Whatever became of the summer of love?
The original hippy message was innocent and pure – before the summer of love turned to the winter of exploitation, says Mick Brown
The first modern celebrity – Nadar’s life fêted
Sam Leith considers the breathtaking career of Nadar – the heroic self-publicist who took 19th-century Paris by storm
The two sides of Henry David Thoreau
Dominic Green considers two new books on Henry David Thoreau examining the dual nature of his character, aesthetic and politics
Hitler’s glamorous high flyers
Keith Lowe on Nazi Germany’s two remarkable female pilots, both holders of the Iron Cross, First Class
War damage to mind and body
Emma Williams salutes two books that examine close up the physical and psychological scars of war
Man and horse - the end of a special relationship?
Sam Leith canters through a fascinating, if eccentric, history of man’s long partnership with the horse
Cash for coronets: the invasion of America’s social-climbing heiresses
The undignified ‘cash for coronets’ deal between America’s heiresses and Europe’s nobility produced some marvellous stories, says Nicholas Shakespeare
Will most seabirds be extinct by the end of the century?
Wherever seabirds are at home, so too is Adam Nicolson – and his understanding of them is almost uncanny, says Maggie Fergusson
Hans Sloane collected everything – from acupuncture kits to zebras
Hans Sloane’s passion for collecting led to the foundation = of the British Museum. But missing – until now – has been the man himself, says Jonathan Keates
Whatever happens next, Havana will always be Havana
With more than a million visitors every year, Havana is now a fabulous, half-derelict human zoo, says John Gimlette
London’s gay past will always be a mystery
It needs guesswork and intuition to write a history of gay London – because for centuries no one was talking, says Philip Hensher
Racing to Armageddon
An enduring solution to war becomes ever more pressing. But will it always be wishful thinking, as Milos Stankovic suspects?
From Tree of Death to Tree of Life: the history of the cross
Among Christians, the cross is seen as an instrument of execution and an emblem of victory. Christopher Howse explores the paradox
Darkness visible – the wondrous power of eclipses
Marek Kukula was surprised to find himself moved to tears when he first witnessed a solar eclipse
Leonora Carrington’s adventures in surrealism
The surrealists’ muse and a distinguished artist in her own right, Leonora Carrington captivated all who met her, says Jane Rye
The tragedy of a brother’s drowning
Nicholas Shakespeare is full of admiration for Richard Beard’s painful inquest into the death of his brother
David Jones – the 20th century’s great neglected genius
When Stravinsky visited David Jones in his cold Harrow bedsit, he came away saying, ‘I have been in the presence…
How Lenin manipulated the Russian Revolution to his own ends
With the old order rotten to the core, Russia was more than ripe for revolution in 1917. But Lenin thought the revolution was all about him, says Roland Elliott Brown
Who — or what — is the African, the Stranger and the One-eyed Sphinx?
Since childhood, Caroline Moore has been captivated by the fragile, silky, shimmering beauty of moths — and by their enchanting names
How Jane Carlyle survived a miserable marriage
Jane Carlyle found comfort in her miserable marriage by ‘splashing off’ whatever was on her mind in letters to friends – which became famous in her own lifetime, says Frances Wilson
Could the Rorschach tests spot a Nazi?
There may be something in the Rorschach tests, says Philip Hensher, but can it really be measured?
